Fachgebiet Wirtschaftsinformatik | Software & Digital Business, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
Institut für Produkt- und Prozessinnovation, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2020 May 21;15(5):e0233330. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233330. eCollection 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed our globalised world and its long-term impact is not yet known. It is apparent that businesses and institutions are increasingly affected. COVID-19 discussions often focus on intensive care units in hospitals. However, COVID-19 also effects life-saving and -prolonging radiotherapy for patients suffering from cancer.
We have conducted a structured online survey among medical physicists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from March 23rd to 26th 2020. In total 154 responses (82 completed, 72 partially completed) were analysed in the context of the COVID-19 dissemination.
72.4% of the respondent's state that their processes are affected due to COVID-19, while the top three answers are longer processing times (54.2%), patient no-shows (42.5%) and staff reduction (36.7%). 75.8% expect further unavailability of their personnel in the upcoming weeks. All participants have already taken several measures, especially providing information for patients at the entrance (89.6%) or over the phone (73.6%), restricting access for accompanying persons (77.4%) and providing disinfectant at the entrance (72.6%).
The results presented in this article aim to support business continuity and risk management for radiotherapy centres to prepare for future challenges. The results show that most radiotherapy centres has implemented initial contingency measures, applying them pragmatically. The main problem however remains, that is the high risk of infection both for patients and medical personnel along with the associated risk of temporarily loss of personnel and ordered closure of business.
COVID-19 大流行已经改变了我们全球化的世界，其长期影响尚不清楚。显然，企业和机构受到的影响越来越大。COVID-19 的讨论通常集中在医院的重症监护室。然而，COVID-19 也会影响到癌症患者的救生和延长放疗。
我们在 2020 年 3 月 23 日至 26 日期间对德国、奥地利和瑞士的医学物理学家进行了一项结构化的在线调查。在 COVID-19 传播的背景下，共分析了 154 份回复（82 份完整回复，72 份部分回复）。
72.4%的受访者表示他们的工作流程受到 COVID-19 的影响，而排名前三的答案是处理时间延长（54.2%）、患者失约（42.5%）和员工减少（36.7%）。75.8%的人预计在接下来的几周内，他们的人员将进一步无法到位。所有参与者都已经采取了多项措施，特别是在入口处为患者提供信息（89.6%）或通过电话提供信息（73.6%），限制陪同人员的进入（77.4%），并在入口处提供消毒剂（72.6%）。
本文介绍的结果旨在支持放射治疗中心的业务连续性和风险管理，为未来的挑战做好准备。结果表明，大多数放射治疗中心已经实施了初步的应急措施，并且正在灵活应用。然而，主要问题仍然是患者和医务人员感染的高风险，以及相关人员暂时流失和业务暂时关闭的风险。
